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Indian Air Force Saves Two Lives By Flying Organs From Pune To Delhi

Indian Air Force Saves Two Lives By Flying Organs From Pune To Delhi
An Indian Air Force Sukhoi SU-30 air superiority fighter flies past during a flight demonstration at the Yelahanka Air Force Station during the second day of Aero India 2009 in Bangalore on February 12, 2009. South Asia's biggest airshow opened with firms from 25 countries showcasing their latest hardware in a chase for multibillion-dollar contracts with the Indian military. AFP PHOTO/Dibyangshu SARKAR (Photo credit should read DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images)
DIBYANGSHU SARKAR via Getty Images
An Indian Air Force Sukhoi SU-30 air superiority fighter flies past during a flight demonstration at the Yelahanka Air Force Station during the second day of Aero India 2009 in Bangalore on February 12, 2009. South Asia's biggest airshow opened with firms from 25 countries showcasing their latest hardware in a chase for multibillion-dollar contracts with the Indian military. AFP PHOTO/Dibyangshu SARKAR (Photo credit should read DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images)

Last week, the Indian Air Force (IAF) saved the lives of two people by employing one of its special aircraft to transport organs from Pune to Delhi.

The organs were made available on July 26 when Ganesh, the son of a 45-year-old woman who was declared brain dead in Pune, decided to donate her organs. One of her kidneys was used in Pune at the Armed Forced Medical College and Command hospital, and the other along with her liver was transported to Delhi.

After a speedy completion of paperwork, a green corrider was created at Wanowrie (where the hospital is located), and the vehicle carrying the organs reached the airport in eight minutes.

One of IAFs fastest jets delivered the kidney and liver in Delhi for two patients within an hour and a half. The aircraft left Pune at 11:20 pm and reached Delhi at 40 minutes past midnight. "We started the surgery as soon as the organs arrived,” said Colonel PP Rao, the head of the liver transplantation unit at Army Research and Referral hospital, New Delhi. Rao said the normal travel time in any passenger aircraft was over two hours.

The quick delivery ensured that the two patients -- one a 56-year old serviceman with liver cancer, and a jawan diagnosed with kidney failure – was operated on successfully. Sarvade’s other organs have also been donated.

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